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Guest
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 Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:45 am Post subject: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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Would you recommend Vonage ?
Hi
We are thinking of installing Vonage ..............$24.99 per month.
We have Comcast cable / internet.
I have heard that the sound quality is poor sometimes.
Does anyone have any experience with them ?
Positive, negative ?
Pls let me know.
Thanks
Kim |
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Elmo P. Shagnasty
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:45 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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In article <1156316479.872260.241720@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
kimshapiro100@yahoo.com wrote:
| Quote: | Would you recommend Vonage ?
|
At $25/month? Hell, no.
ViaTalk right now has $199 for two years, but you have to buy the
hardware. If you catch them on a holiday or on a good day, Sunrocket
has $199 for two years and for that they provide the hardware.
$8.33/month. I snapped it up. So far, so good. |
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KenW
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:04 pm Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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On 23 Aug 2006 00:01:19 -0700, kimshapiro100@yahoo.com wrote:
| Quote: | Would you recommend Vonage ?
Hi
We are thinking of installing Vonage ..............$24.99 per month.
We have Comcast cable / internet.
I have heard that the sound quality is poor sometimes.
Does anyone have any experience with them ?
Positive, negative ?
Pls let me know.
Thanks
Kim
I have no complaints for 2 years. Just remember, the internet is a |
'funny' happening. Packets can go anywhere to get to the same place
and depends on the amount of traffic between two points. My calls from
New Jersey to Colorado have been very good. Calls to Western Mass. are
iffy. |
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Ed Nielsen
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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I would and often do. I've been with them for going on 3 years and no
complaints here. Occasional (very seldom) degradation of voice quality,
but I'd put them right up there with a landline any day. Based on our
phone usage at the time we switched over, we have saved over $4k.
Well worth the switch, in my opinion.
CIAO!
Ed N.
kimshapiro100@yahoo.com wrote:
| Quote: | Would you recommend Vonage ?
Hi
We are thinking of installing Vonage ..............$24.99 per month.
We have Comcast cable / internet.
I have heard that the sound quality is poor sometimes.
Does anyone have any experience with them ?
Positive, negative ?
Pls let me know.
Thanks
Kim
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Warren
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 12:11 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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kimshapiro100@yahoo.com wrote:
| Quote: | Would you recommend Vonage ?
Hi
We are thinking of installing Vonage ..............$24.99 per month.
We have Comcast cable / internet.
I have heard that the sound quality is poor sometimes.
Does anyone have any experience with them ?
Positive, negative ?
Pls let me know.
|
I'm not clear about where you are in the decision making process. Are you
deciding between Vonage and other VoIP providers, or are you deciding
between VoIP and standard telephone service?
As a VoIP provider, Vonage is great. They are reliable, and they are
priced well. They also have a wide host of features available. Overall, if
you decide that VoIP is what you want, Vonage is a good choice.
However, while VoIP is marketed and typically used as a replacement for
standard telephone service, it is not standard telephone service. It's not
regulated the same way. It doesn't use the same technology. It has
different limitations, and different benefits.
The most important part of VoIP is that little "o" in the middle: The
"over" part of it. With VoIP, you are essentially making phone calls on a
system that's an overlay over another system. The phone system was
designed to be used for phone calls, and is essentially a connection
switching network. When you make a phone call on a regular telephone,
essentially the pair of wires coming out of your phone become connected
with the pair of wires going into the phone on the other end of the call.
Your call goes through a number of switches, and the signal is processed
by various pieces of equipment, but you are essentially directly connected
between the two places. There may be places where multiple phone
connections are multiplexed, and are using the same physical wire, but
you're still essentially directly connected.
With VoIP, after your voice is turned into digital data, that data is
broken-up into packets, and those packets are sent off to the destination.
These packets could go in different directions, but the most important
difference is that the packets, not the connection, are the discrete
units. It's a far more efficient way of sending data, but efficiency isn't
always the most important.
Think of it this way: If you were shipping a dozen widgets across town,
you could hire a delivery service to come and pick them all up at once,
and take them as a unit over to their destination for next day delivery.
Yes, they might sit in the truck along with some other deliveries, but
they're essentially being taken straight from one place to another as a
unit. That compares to standard telephone service. Now take those same
dozen widgets, pack them into a dozen boxes, and drop them in the mailbox
outside your office. They'll get picked-up with all the other mail in the
box, taken to be sorted, and dispatched to a delivery person who'll
deliver them. That's VoIP.
In the above example, most of the time the dozen widgets will get from
point A to point B in about the same amount of time, and in the same
condition. The significantly lower cost of the second method will be the
primary reason why you would choose method two over method one. That's a
perfectly valid choice, and most people will be completely satisfied
making that choice.
Likewise, most of the time VoIP is going to work just as well as standard
telephone service. The sound quality will be the same. Everything will
work just as well as if you were using a standard telephone -- but the
cost will be significantly lower! And that's a perfectly valid choice.
(One that I made, as a matter of fact.)
But VoIP does have it's limitations. Because it's using your Internet
connection, it depends upon your Internet connection being up and running.
You're going to have your cable modem, a router, and a phone adapter in
your house (perhaps two or even all three of them might be combined in the
same box) that all need power to operate. But even if you get battery
back-up to power these devices during a power failure, if your ISP is
having problems, it doesn't matter if you've got power going to those
devices. Even if your ISP is up 99% of the time, that's 14 minutes a day
that they're down. And what percentage of time a consumer-level ISP is up
or down is not regulated. They don't have to be up any more then they need
to be to keep from losing customers, and that's more like 95% of the time
than 99% of the time. A regular phone company typically needs to be up
99.999% of the time. That's less than a minute a day down.
Not only does your ISP need to be up, the VoIP provider needs to be up,
too. Are they striving for just 99%, or 99.999% of the time? Remember that
it's far more likely that their down-time isn't going to overlap the ISP's
down time than it is that it will overlap. So if both the ISP and the VoIP
provider are shooting for 99%, that could mean an average of 28 minutes a
day you won't have phone service, compared to an average of less than a
minute a day with standard telephone service!
In most cases, it's not going to be that bad. And even if the numbers do
reach those extremes, it's unlikely that it's going to have a bad outcome.
However, for some people, this potential may not be acceptable at any
cost.
Vonage does have a way to address most of this. If your phone adapter
loses connection, and you've got a call coming in, it can be rerouted to
another number of your choice, typically your cell phone number. And
having a working cell phone is also a good back-up for when you need to
make an emergency call, and bad luck puts that emergency at the same time
that your VoIP is down. (A working cell phone is a good back-up for
standard phone service, too.)
The other issue with VoIP is the "V". It stands for "voice". VoIP was
designed for voice communications. Most of the time your fax machine will
work just fine. Most of the time your DishTV box or Tivo will be able to
phone home just fine. Alarm systems, medical equipment, Realtor's eKeys...
most will work okay much of the time. However, this is not what VoIP was
designed for. These devices may or may not work reliably. And they may not
work at all. This could be very important for some people.
All that said, I did make the choice to drop my standard phone service,
and go with VoIP. And I did go with Vonage. And I have been satisfied.
--
Warren H.
==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Power Lawncare Tools for Spring Clean-up:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/ |
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Andrew Rossmann
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 1:53 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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|
[This followup was posted to comp.dcom.modems.cable and a copy was sent
to the cited author.]
In article <1156316479.872260.241720@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
kimshapiro100@yahoo.com says...
| Quote: | Would you recommend Vonage ?
We are thinking of installing Vonage ..............$24.99 per month.
We have Comcast cable / internet.
I have heard that the sound quality is poor sometimes.
Does anyone have any experience with them ?
Positive, negative ?
|
I have it, but it's only for a 'work' phone line. (I work from home.) I
haven't had too many problems with Vonage itself. The quality varies a
bit, but so do regular phone calls, too. The Vonage caller-id info keeps
setting the date and time on my phone to random times (I cannot
configure the phone to NOT autoconfigure from caller-id info!)
My main issue is the reliability of the service it rides on. I have both
Comcast cable and DSL due to unreliability from Comcast (I'd consider
100% DSL if I could get faster speeds than 1500/384). As others posted,
if the power goes out, there goes your cable and VOIP. Using a UPS might
work, but that depends if Comcast's routers and other equipment are not
also out.
Even if you go with Vonage, you should still keep a standard phone line,
with a CORDED (not cordless) phone for emergencies. If you dicker with
the phone company, you may be able to strip your service down to just
local calls only. That should be enough for 911 and toll-free utility
emergency calls. Even if you want to make long distance calls, you could
use your cell phone if you have one, or one of those dial-around
services (pricey, but better than nothing in an emergency.)
--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.att.net/~andyross |
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Charles Newman
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 3:11 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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<kimshapiro100@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1156316479.872260.241720@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Would you recommend Vonage ?
|
Get Skype instead. The overall costs are much
cheaper. You can get a Skype-in number for
only $12 every three months and can add an
unlimited calling plan to the USA and Canada
for only $30 more per year. That, overall, is
much cheaper than Vonage. |
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Andrew Rossmann
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:44 pm Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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|
In article <TtSdndHS1_0M8krYnZ2dnUVZ_r-onZ2d@comcast.com>,
chuck@backtalkradio.spammers.will.hung.by.the.neck.until.dead.backtalkra
dio.net says...
| Quote: |
kimshapiro100@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1156316479.872260.241720@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Would you recommend Vonage ?
Get Skype instead. The overall costs are much
cheaper. You can get a Skype-in number for
only $12 every three months and can add an
unlimited calling plan to the USA and Canada
for only $30 more per year. That, overall, is
much cheaper than Vonage.
|
But, Skype requires you have your computer on and running. I've also
found it very sensitive to any bandwidth congestion.
Vonage uses a separate adapter and normal phones. I've never noticed
audio issues, even when my computer is transfering files.
Skype is fine for computer-to-computer, but I wouldn't rely on it for
everyday use.
Both of these rely on the reliabilty of your ISP. I would still stick
with a stripped down, basic landline service for home use. 911 is too
important, and non-landline 911 is still iffy at best.
--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.att.net/~andyross |
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Warren
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:10 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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Andrew Rossmann wrote:
| Quote: | chuck@backtalkradio.spammers.will.hung.by.the.neck.until.dead.backtalkra
dio.net wrote:
Get Skype instead. The overall costs are much
cheaper. You can get a Skype-in number for
only $12 every three months and can add an
unlimited calling plan to the USA and Canada
for only $30 more per year. That, overall, is
much cheaper than Vonage.
But, Skype requires you have your computer on and running. I've also
found it very sensitive to any bandwidth congestion.
Vonage uses a separate adapter and normal phones. I've never noticed
audio issues, even when my computer is transfering files.
Skype is fine for computer-to-computer, but I wouldn't rely on it for
everyday use.
Both of these rely on the reliabilty of your ISP. I would still stick
with a stripped down, basic landline service for home use. 911 is too
important, and non-landline 911 is still iffy at best.
|
In most areas, Vonage now has e911. That makes it less of an issue, but
yes, you are depending on your ISP being up when you need it. But
traditional landline phones can, and do, go down, too. Having a back-up
system is important either way.
My back-up to Vonage is my cell phone rather than a basic POTS line. If a
tree falls, it could take out both my cable ISP service and a POTS line.
The odds of both ISP and cell phone service being out at the same time are
better for me than the odds of my cable and POTS line being out at the
same time.
Right now I feel that with Vonage and a working cell phone I'm safer,
911-wise, than I was with just a POTS line, even though POTS usually has a
higher level of reliability than either my Vonage phone or my cell phone
alone.
And even though my computer is normally on, there are already times when
I'm using all of it's processing power. Send me an IM at the wrong time,
and I'll hear the alert sound thirty seconds before the IM window appears.
Imagine if I were trying to run Skype at the same time! But my Vonage
adapter is it's own little mini-computer, and works just fine no matter
what kind of work I'm doing on my computer.
Skype may be cheaper than Vonage, but the key here is that it's really
cheaper, not just less expensive. Skype doesn't meet my needs for phone
service, so it really doesn't matter what they charge for it. Vonage does
meet my needs.
And since my needs don't include a lot of time actually talking on the
phone, the 600 minutes a month plan works for me, too. Even if I have to
pay a surcharge for minutes over 600, it's around 750 minutes before it
would cost more than the unlimited plan. And I don't think there has ever
been a month in my entire life that I used my home phone more than 500
minutes, let alone 750 minutes! So even if something unusual happens, and
I have a month this year that I use more than 750 minutes, I'm still
coming out ahead for the year by going with the $15/600min/month plan over
the $25/unlimited/month plan. And I get the same reliability, which is
important to me.
My $15/month, which includes long distance without toll charges, is better
than the $40/month of Comcast phone, or the $35/month for local POTS
service, especially when you consider that the POTS service is only local,
and long distance would be toll calls. It's still more than Skype, but
Skype can't offer me what I need despite my rather low threshold of needs.
Of course I still have to pay for HSI, but I'm paying for HSI anyway.
Someone who's Internet needs aren't great enough to pay for HSI, the
economies are a little different. But considering that many dial-up ISP's
run around or over $20/month, spending another $22/month for HSI, while
saving $20/month with Vonage, and getting no-toll long distance seems to
imply that now may be the right time for those people to move up to HSI
even if they don't need better than dial-up.
--
Warren H.
==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Maintain your landscape with Black & Decker:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker |
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f/fgeorge
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:40 pm Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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|
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 13:11:41 -0800, "Charles Newman"
<chuck@backtalkradio.spammers.will.hung.by.the.neck.until.dead.backtalkradio.net>
wrote:
| Quote: |
kimshapiro100@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1156316479.872260.241720@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Would you recommend Vonage ?
Get Skype instead. The overall costs are much
cheaper. You can get a Skype-in number for
only $12 every three months and can add an
unlimited calling plan to the USA and Canada
for only $30 more per year. That, overall, is
much cheaper than Vonage.
www.sunrocket.com is cheaper and better. They also have a deal |
sometimes where you get 2 years for the price of 1. Same thing as
vonnage just better and cheaper. |
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John Gray
Guest
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:04 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
|
|
Andrew Rossmann <andysnewsreply@no_junk.comcast.net> wrote in
news:MPG.2043d6b09c42af0f9898a6@newsgroups.comcast.net:
| Quote: | In article <rJOdnaQQ9couXUXYnZ2dnUVZ_o6gnZ2d@comcast.com>,
wholzem@hotmail.com says...
Andrew Rossmann wrote:
chuck@backtalkradio.spammers.will.hung.by.the.neck.until.dead.backtalk
ra dio.net wrote:
Get Skype instead. The overall costs are much
cheaper. You can get a Skype-in number for
only $12 every three months and can add an
unlimited calling plan to the USA and Canada
for only $30 more per year. That, overall, is
much cheaper than Vonage.
But, Skype requires you have your computer on and running. I've also
found it very sensitive to any bandwidth congestion.
Vonage uses a separate adapter and normal phones. I've never noticed
audio issues, even when my computer is transfering files.
Skype is fine for computer-to-computer, but I wouldn't rely on it for
everyday use.
Both of these rely on the reliabilty of your ISP. I would still stick
with a stripped down, basic landline service for home use. 911 is too
important, and non-landline 911 is still iffy at best.
In most areas, Vonage now has e911. That makes it less of an issue, but
yes, you are depending on your ISP being up when you need it. But
traditional landline phones can, and do, go down, too. Having a back-up
system is important either way.
My back-up to Vonage is my cell phone rather than a basic POTS line. If
a tree falls, it could take out both my cable ISP service and a POTS
line. The odds of both ISP and cell phone service being out at the same
time are better for me than the odds of my cable and POTS line being
out at the same time.
Just remember that the 911 situtation for cell phones is even worse than
VOIP! Every time there is a federal guideline to reach a certain level,
the companies complain and it gets pushed back.
|
I've tested both my TW DigitalPhone and my Verizon cell phones with my local
E911 number. I called during the day on a Monday morning when they were
least busy after verifying via a non-emergency number if it was ok to do so.
Both verified as being from my home address. As far as the cell phone, I
don't know exactly which method was used. I guess that it could either use
the billing address ( which would lead to bad emergency response if I were
somewhere else when calling ) or used the GPS setup from the phone. |
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Gary
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:04 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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|
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message >
| Quote: | I mean, pretty much everybody has a cell phone, right? So there's no
real worry about "what happens if SR or my cable go down or if the power
goes out?".
|
Also consider where you live... if words like "Katrina," "Loma Prieta" or
"F5" are a concern for you, having multiple methods of communication could
be important. Even though your cell phone has a fully charged battery, the
local cell tower may be overloaded or missing. Having VoIP, cell and a
landline gives you the greatest chance that one will be working when you
really need it. Consider your risk factors and buy the service(s)
appropriate for your needs.
No matter where you live, if you get VoIP service make sure you buy a
uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your modem and VoIP equipment. It's
not uncommon to have a power outage that doesn't effect your cable or DSL
service. If you don't have a UPS, you'll loose phone service. You don't
need a big one, and the little ones often go on sale for $20 or $30 bucks.
-Gary |
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f/fgeorge
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:20 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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On 20 Feb 2007 01:04:06 GMT, John Gray <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
I've tested both my TW DigitalPhone and my Verizon cell phones with my local
E911 number. I called during the day on a Monday morning when they were
least busy after verifying via a non-emergency number if it was ok to do so.
Both verified as being from my home address. As far as the cell phone, I
don't know exactly which method was used. I guess that it could either use
the billing address ( which would lead to bad emergency response if I were
somewhere else when calling ) or used the GPS setup from the phone.
After working for a fire dept for many years I can tell you that none |
will complain if you call during slack hours and explain that you are
testing. If you do not say right away that you are testing they might
get upset. But ensuring the number works is good for them if you need
it, and they understand that. |
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Warren
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:39 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
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f/fgeorge wrote:
| Quote: | John Gray <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:
I've tested both my TW DigitalPhone and my Verizon cell phones with my
local
E911 number. I called during the day on a Monday morning when they were
least busy after verifying via a non-emergency number if it was ok to do
so.
Both verified as being from my home address. As far as the cell phone,
I
don't know exactly which method was used. I guess that it could either
use
the billing address ( which would lead to bad emergency response if I
were
somewhere else when calling ) or used the GPS setup from the phone.
After working for a fire dept for many years I can tell you that none
will complain if you call during slack hours and explain that you are
testing. If you do not say right away that you are testing they might
get upset. But ensuring the number works is good for them if you need
it, and they understand that.
|
Slack hours? You mean they don't adjust staffing according to expected
call load?
If they schedule their people right, they will have more people working
during the busy hours, and fewer people working during the slower hours,
and the workload per agent working will be similar. So while there might
be fewer calls at a certain time of the day, the workers on duty at that
time will be as busy as those working when more calls are coming in.
And if they're not doing that in your 911 call center, they're throwing
money away when they're over-staffed, and/or endangering people when
they're under-staffed. And given the plethora of workforce management
software designed for busy call center environments, they shouldn't be
scheduling properly for their call volume.
Essentially, that means there really is no slack-time, and the advisories
not to just "test" 911 that are sent out in press releases by many 911
call centers mean something. And in some jurisdictions, even if you say
you're just testing, the assumption is that there really is a reason for
you to be calling, and your "test" call will result in a visit from a
police officer.
Of course your local policies may differ, and you might not get in trouble
for "testing" 911, but don't count on it. And certainly don't count on the
call center being over-staffed at any given time.
--
Warren H.
==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Maintain your landscape with Black & Decker:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker |
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f/fgeorge
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:58 am Post subject: Re: Would you recommend Vonage ? |
|
|
On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:39:40 -0800, "Warren" <wholzem@hotmail.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | f/fgeorge wrote:
John Gray <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:
I've tested both my TW DigitalPhone and my Verizon cell phones with my
local
E911 number. I called during the day on a Monday morning when they were
least busy after verifying via a non-emergency number if it was ok to do
so.
Both verified as being from my home address. As far as the cell phone,
I
don't know exactly which method was used. I guess that it could either
use
the billing address ( which would lead to bad emergency response if I
were
somewhere else when calling ) or used the GPS setup from the phone.
After working for a fire dept for many years I can tell you that none
will complain if you call during slack hours and explain that you are
testing. If you do not say right away that you are testing they might
get upset. But ensuring the number works is good for them if you need
it, and they understand that.
Slack hours? You mean they don't adjust staffing according to expected
call load?
If they schedule their people right, they will have more people working
during the busy hours, and fewer people working during the slower hours,
and the workload per agent working will be similar. So while there might
be fewer calls at a certain time of the day, the workers on duty at that
time will be as busy as those working when more calls are coming in.
And if they're not doing that in your 911 call center, they're throwing
money away when they're over-staffed, and/or endangering people when
they're under-staffed. And given the plethora of workforce management
software designed for busy call center environments, they shouldn't be
scheduling properly for their call volume.
Essentially, that means there really is no slack-time, and the advisories
not to just "test" 911 that are sent out in press releases by many 911
call centers mean something. And in some jurisdictions, even if you say
you're just testing, the assumption is that there really is a reason for
you to be calling, and your "test" call will result in a visit from a
police officer.
Of course your local policies may differ, and you might not get in trouble
for "testing" 911, but don't count on it. And certainly don't count on the
call center being over-staffed at any given time.
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Don't know where you are from but how can you plan for a Hurricane or
Tornado or shooting with 5 victims that will needs 5 dispatchers not
counting the ones that are handling the normal call load? ALL call
centers I have ever been to have been staffed exactly the same every
shift day in day out. Some days you have slack time, some days you
could use 30 more people. |
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